The speed of time

My brother is currently in Uganda for the summer. It’s his first time in Africa. I chatted with him the other day, and the thing he’s struggling with the most is the conception of time.

Time moves at different speeds in different cultures. In the States, it moves fast. People are always busy, always on the move, and always getting things done. Meetings often start on time, and things are often accomplished.

Such is not the case in Africa. There is no take-away food. Transportation is unscheduled and unreliable. There is always time to drink tea and catch up with a friend. So what if you have an important meeting in 20 minutes? It can wait. So what if you have a project to finish? It can always be finished next week.

This is often one of the hardest adjustments to make when first visiting the African continent. My brother has a lot he wants to accomplish in his two month visit. He is quickly learning that very little can be done in two months. It takes time to form connections, to motivate people to support your ideas. Nothing happens fast, and sometimes it doesn’t happen at all. Projects require a different type of approach. This can also be frustrating on a personal level – you feel like you’re not doing enough, you feel unsatisfied. Slowing down is not easy.

But it the change of pace teaches us Westerners a lot. With a slower time speed comes a greater appreciation for one’s surroundings, and the ability to enjoy empty relaxation. I was never very good taking time for myself. My travels have made me much better at this without feeling like I am wasting time and space. Now, the speed of the east coast makes me frustrated; I think I prefer the slower time of Africa.

Advertisements

Share this:

Like this:

Related

4 Responses to “The speed of time”

It is soooo true!! I find that this is also the case with many people from Latin America. To them, time is really not an issue. A meeting that is scheduled for 3pm, is really meant for 5pm. If you are dealing with a Latin American, as another Latin American, both will show up at 5pm. However, as an American, setting up a meeting with a Latin American person/client, whichever, a 10AM meeting turns into 12pm…which inevitably means that the meeting won’t actually occur until 2pm. While for me, my time is valuable (billed by the hour) to him, my time is not such…or rather, time is not a commodity.

Americans have this “time is money” attitude. I am guilty myself sometimes. I bitch about the train that I JUST missed, even though one comes behind it 2-5 minutes later. 5 minutes seems like a lot to me, living in NYC. I mean, if that happened to me 3 times a day, I’d be missing out on $50+ bucks of billable time at the office! This is how people think here. No one thinks, well I guess I have 5 more minutes to catch up on reading.

I have never been to Africa, so I can’t comment on the differences between there and here, but I have lived in DC. While a city, it is very much in the South, and you get a city feel to a much more casual lifestyle. In NY, most people would throw you onto the train tracks if it meant saving themselves the aggravation of being polite. And that is often the mentality here…politeness has become an inconvenience, a luxury that no one has time for.

It is faster to shove someone out of your way then ask them politely to move. Living here one has to be careful to not fall into the easiness of being an asshole. Though, don’t get me wrong, there are definitely nice people in NY. I’m merely talking generalities here.

This applies to not only life, but driving as well. I turn into a different driver when I cross the border into NY. I put on my aggressive hat, cutting into lanes and not allowing others to cut into mine. You have to become like other NY drivers, or otherwise you will find your car with a nice new dent, a middle finger, and of course, a hit and run.

i think the biggest struggle for me is to keep my aggressive hat off when i get back to the states. i can take it off in africa, and can keep it off for the first week or so that i’m back, but then i inevitably slip it on again. i’m working on it, though…